Automatic coal dumping appliance



May 17, 1949.

Filed Aug. 2, 1946 F. E. CHRISTOPHER 2,470,472

AUTOMATIC COAL DUMPING APPLIANCE 6 Sheets-Sheet l ATTD RN EYE May 17, 1949. F. E. CHRISTOPHER AUTOMATIC COAL DUMPING APPLIANCE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 2, 194a INVENTOR. fiafi/rAZZ/vlszap/wr y 1949. F. E. CHRISTOPHER 2,470,472

AUTOMATIC COAL DUMPING APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 2, 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS May 17, 1949. F. E. CHRISTOPHER 2,470,472

AUTOMATIC COAL DUMPINQ APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 2, 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 I N VEN TOR.

6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug 2, 1946 I N VEN TOR.

fiamimrzsza AITEI RN EYS May 17, 1949.

F. E. CHRISTOPHER AUTOMATIC COAL DUMPING APPLIANCE 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 2, 1946 I N VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented May 17, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC COAL DUMPIN G APPLIANCE Frank E. Christopher, Morgantown, W. Va. Application August 2, 1946, Serial No. 688,060

4 Claims. 1

My present invention relates generally to improvements in hoist-line appliances for elevating, conveying, and dumping coal, and similar materials, and more particularly to an improved automatic coal dumping appliance of the type employing a hoist-line lift or elevator and a tiltable or invertible cage, for conveying and sidedumping a car loaded with suitable material for the purpose.

The primary object of the invention is the rovision of an appliance of this type which may be erected at a desired location for receiving successive car-loads and elevating the loaded cars and dumping their fluent contents into a bin or other receptacle; and means, simple in construction and operation are provided for handling the loaded and unloaded cars with facility and dispatch.

The invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of part as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed. In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one complete example of the invention embodied in a tower-type of appliance for handling fluent material, as coal, and constructed according to one mode I have devised for the practical application of the principles of my invention. It will be understood that various changes and alterations may be made in the location of the appliance, in the material handled, and in the exemplifying mechanical structures, within the scope of my appended claims, without departing from the principles of the invention.

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the tower type of appliance in which my invention is embodied, with the lift or elevator in lowered position; and Figure 2 is a front elevation showing the hoistline equipment, parts being broken away for convenience of illustration;

Figure 3 is an enlarged, horizontal, transverse sectional view, as at line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view at the base of the tower with the lift in lowered position;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view showing the lift in elevated position and the cage and car at the initial movement of the dumping operation;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view illustrating another step in the dumping operation;

Figure 7 is a similar view with the cage and car at the end of the dumping movement in position to empty the load through the discharge chute of the cage into the delivery chute that leads to a bin or other appropriate receptacle;

Figure 8 is an enlarged detail view, as at line 88 of Figure 7, showing a retaining device for the cage;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a portion of the guide rail for the cage retaining device.

In the assembly views Figures 1 and 2, a tower or upright open frame is erected with four corner posts I, upon the fixed base 2, and a lateral delivery chute 3 is rigidly mounted at a suitable height on one side of the tower to receive coal from the loaded car C, and deliver the contents of the car, by gravity, into a bin, or other receptacle, not shown.

The open upright frame provides a support for the lift or elevator in which the cage and the coal car are carried or conveyed, and the lift as show is an open rectangular frame or structure including upper and lower horizontal bars 4, 4 and upright corner posts 5 which form guides within the interior of the tower, together with a horizontal, open-center deck-portion 6, upon which spaced rail-sections l are mounted. When the lift or elevator is in lowered position, these rail sections 1 are alined with the usual railroad tracks as indicated at 8 in dotted lines in Figure 3, along which the loaded cars are run to the elevator, and the empty cars are run from the elevator.

In its vertical movement, the lift is guided by means of a pair of spaced upright stationary rails 9, 9 of the tower or main frame, and upper and lower pairs of guide bars l0, ID, that form grooves at opposite sides of the lift for guiding co-action with the rails and stabilizing the vertical movement of the lift.

These upper and lower guides of the lift are braced by diagonal bars II, II, and beneath the lift these braces and bars are united by a base member I2, that co-acts with a fixed bumper or stop plate l3 at the bottom of the tower I.

The lift is elevated and lowered by means of a hoist-line or cable I 4 which is attached at I5 to the top portion of the lift, and the hoist-line leads upwardly and over an upper supporting pulley l6, journalled near the top of the tower, and from thence the hoist-line extends to and around a hoisting drum or other operating appliance, not shown.

From the operating appliance or drum, the cable extends as a, counterbalancing flight or line it, upwardly and over an idler pulley l8 journalled at the top of the tower, and a counterbalancing weight I9 is suspended at the end of the counterbalancing line 14'.

The weight is designed to counterbalance a usual load equal to the weight of the lift, the dumping cage, the coal car C, and approximately one-half of the weight of the coal contained in the car, in order that the hoisting mechanism may be controlled with facility in raising the load, and in lowering the elevating equipment with the empty coal car.

The Weight is guided in its vertical movement by means of perforated ears or bracket eyes it, 20 mounted thereon, which traverse spaced upright parallel bars or guide rods 2|, 2| extending 3 from the base of the tower up to one of the horizontal angle iron braces 22 that surround the tower.

The loaded car C is run on. the track rails 8 and short sections, 1, to a pair of rail sections 23, that are mounted upon the top of a rectangular, flat floor 24 of the dumping cage which carries the car Within the lift.

The cage is pivotally supported off its load.

center within the lift by means of. a horizontal pivot bar 25 that is rigidly mounted off center below the deck or floor by means of. bracket hangers 26 of the cage, and journalled to turn in complementary bearing hangers or brackets 21 of the lift.

The pivot bar 25- of the dumping cage isbraced by means of spaced hoops" or endless bands 28 that surround the cage, passing beneath the floor or'deck and up the sides of. the cage where they are united, as by welding,to-horizontalangle iron bars 29, one iflange of'which performs the functions of a retaining bracket atone side of the car. The flange overhangs or overlaps the upper edge of the side wall Ofi the car; within the cage, and: aids in retaining the car in. place while it is being swung to dumping position.-

The bands 28 project above the car, and upon the spaced converging: arms of the bands ismounted and rigidly supported, a discharge trough or chute 32 of sheet metal which extends the full length of the, carin position to receive the coal therefrom when the car is inverted, and to pass the coal into the. delivery chute 3 when the lift has been elevated to dumping position with relation to the delivery chute.

The cage, with its: contained loaded car is tilted or overturned, automatically, by the lifting or hoisting movement of the hoist line Min connection with the counterbalancing line H. Formed integral with each of. the straight portions of the endless bands 28 as they pass up one side of the cage are the upwardly extending outwardly inclined exterior hooks 33which, with the endless bands 28, provide a' g-uide slot at each end of the cage having a closed: end located at the floor level of the cage, and the normally open upper end thereof flaring outwardly and terminating at a point approximating the bottom of the car body.

For automatically co-acting with the endless bands 28 and the complementary hooks 33. for dumping the car load, axially alined, horizontal stud shafts 34 are. rigidly mounted upon spaced posts of the tower or upright frame, and rollers 35 are journalled on the. stud shafts at the top of thedelivery chute 3 and in the path of the upward movement of the bands 28 and hooks 33.

To maintain the proper vertical movement of the lift and resist tendency of the loaded tilting cage to pull the lift with it in its overturning movement, an uprightv guide rail 36 is provided, which is mounted within the frame, andis secured at its lower end to the base 2 ofthe tower, and at its upper end attached-to one of the surrounding braces 22 of the tower.

For co-action with the guide rail, a roller 3! the inner face of the lower portion ofthe guide rail, and the outwardlongitudinal movement of chute;

41 of the draw bar 38, in engagement with the '4 the roller may be limited by a stop pin 4| fixed upon the inner end of the bar.

In the initial upward movement, the lift is guidedby the roller againstthe inner face of the rail; but upon approaching the elevated dumping position of the cage, the roller is automatically shifted outwardly from its spring-pressed position to engage the outer portion of the rail and positively hold the lift against movement away from the rail, thus holding the lift against partaking of the tilting movement of the cage, when the cage is overturned.

To accomplish this shifting movement of the retaining roller 31, the rail 36, just below the dumping station, of thetower, is interrupted, as at 42, to form a gapor slot for passage of the roller, to pass therethrou'gh to engage the outer portion of the rail as shownin Figure 5;

Thus, as the lift approaches the'dumping station of the tower, the roller is projected byits spring through the gap orslot' 42- and the-upwardly traveling roller'moves in rolling contact with the outer face of the rail 35 to retain the lift against movement toward the fixed delivery In the position of Figure 5, the stop pin slide, bearing bracket or p1ate'39, receives and absorbs the strain that tends to sway the lift toward the delivery chute, 3.

In Figures 5, 6 and'l, the automatic operation of overturning the cage, dumping the coal car, and righting the cage'with'its contained unloaded car, under hoisting movement applied to the lift by the hoist-line and the succeeding lowering movement of the lift,.a-re illustrated. As the liftis elevated, the. books 33 with endless bands 28' slip under the pivot rollers: 35 and the confined rollers in contact with th endless bands 28 and hooks 33 gradually'swing the discharge chute 32 outwardly and downwardly while the pivot bar 25 ascends with the-lift,thusloverturningthe cage and car for dumping the loadinto the delivery chute'3;

In dumping position the overturned cage is supported by the endless bands -28 and hooks 33 on rollers 35' and by pivot-bar 25: of the lift, and the lift is elevated'by-"the' hoist-line until the load is emptied from the discharge chute; then the the cage, causingthe: endless bands 28 to'ride' downwardly, and outwardl'y on the .pivot rollers 35, and as the cage is upturned-or rigl'it'ed, the tracks swing upwardly on the ro1lers'35, and the-hooks 33 co-act with'therollersto stabili'ze'the position of the upturned cage.

Having; thus fully described my invention; what I claim as. new anddesire to secure-by Letters Patent is:

1. In a hoist-line appliance, the-combination with an upright. frame-having an off-set guide rail, a vertically movable lift suspended in the frame, a cage pivotally mounted in the lift, and co-acting means on' the cage and frame for overturning: the cage, of a resiliently supported roller mountedon'the lift in rollingcontact with the inner side of said rail" and adapted to pass through said gap for engagement with theouter side'of said rail, and'means for 'limiting the longitudinal movement of the roller mount.

movable lift suspended in the frame; a cage pivotally mounted on the lift, coacting means on the cage and frame for overturning the cage, a bracket guide secured to the lift at the side thereof opposite from which the cage is overturned, a slide bar adjustable in said bracket, a roller journalled on the slide bar and normally engaging with the iner side of said offset guide rail, a spring on the bar reacting against the bracket guide and urging the roller into contact with the rail, said rail having a ap to permit the passage of the roller to the outer side of the guide rail to retain the lift while the cage is being pivoted and a stop in on the bar and engageable with the bracket to limit the outward movement of the bar.

3. A hoist-line appliance comprising an upright frame having an offset guide rail, a vertically movable lift suspended in the :frame, a cage pivotally mounted on the lift and adapted to receive and retain a car loaded with material, hook means extending from the side of the cage, projections on the frame adapted to be engaged by the hook means to overturn the cage with the car, and means cooperating between the offset guide rail and the lift and adapted to be extended from one side of theguide rail to the opposite side automatically as the lift is raised to be overturned whereby to retain the opposite side of the life from which the carriage is overturned against the overturning of the lift.

4. A hoist-line appliance comprising an upright frame having an offset guide rail, a vertically movable lift suspended in the frame, a cage pivotally mounted on the lift, coacting means on the cage and frame for overturning the cage, and means cooperating between the offset guide rail and the lift and adapted to be extended from one side of the guide rail to the opposite side automatically as the lift is raised to be overturned whereby to retain the opposite side of the lift from which the carriage is overturned against the overturning of the lift.

FRANK E. CHRISTOPHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,720,388 Alexander July 9, 1929 1,833,915 Schmitt Dec. 1, 1931 1,909,379 Sangers May 16, 1933 2,034,147 Martelock Mar. 17, 1936 2,242,819 Fanner May 20, 1941 

